I’m sure you’ve heard of the filtration process through the help of a glass funnel in a chemistry lab. The concept of a sales funnel in 2021 or in general is somewhat similar in Marketing. It helps to narrow down the high-quality leads that will convert. The reason why it is called a funnel is — it is very wide at the beginning but in the end, it becomes narrow. The only thing responsible for converting these prospective clients into reputable patrons is the marketing clan.
A sales funnel works on the theory of AIDA, which stands for Awareness, Interest, Desire, and Action. A lot has evolved in modern times. The conversion funnel is more complex than it appears. A good CRM (customer relationship management) system is needed to foster promising conversions.
Sales funnels in 2021 are way more complicated than the ones when it was first invented. Just like any other thing, it has changed over time. We need to examine further the main functions, applications, and most importantly how you can use them effectively in order to drive sales to understand a sales funnel fully.
Top Section: Show-off!
Just think for a second, how many people do know about your startup or small business and its various aspects? More importantly, do the people that are likely to consume your service/product know? Remember, what matters most is the group that you know will convert in the end.
The buyer becomes aware of the company, its products, values, and what they stand for. A company’s brand and brand identity are built based on the amount of exposure that they receive from the target audience. Therefore, it’s important to create a buzz and build a significant perception of your brand and product among consumers.
How can you make the best out of this stage?
- Digital marketing plays an integral role in this perspective. Email advertising, social media channels, influencers, followers, and CRM tools lend credibility to the brand in a short span.
- An active presence on social media increases growth potential. Content needs to be customer-centric and not just company information. While pitching the content, keep the client’s pain points and expectations in mind.
- The website landing page should be the highlight of the advertisement. This is the point at which the client is most likely to convert.
Usually, this is the part where you target leads and then go for the next stage and try to convert them into prospects.
Middle Section: Nurture As Much You Can!
You have successfully designed and implemented the first stage of your sales funnel. Now what?
It’s time to establish a strong bond with your audience.
In this stage, the buyer evaluates the company’s products based on various segments and compares them to similar products or services of other companies. At this point, your main goal should be to provide a competitive advantage. Send reminders and product developments. Help them build a safety net to invest in your company.
Maintaining contact and making sure you don’t lose the connection with a potential patron is crucial. Don’t delay any potential communication opportunity, be proactive, and reply to queries right away.
Bottom Section: Decision Making!
By the time your customers hit the bottom of the funnel, they get a taste of your company the service. At this point, they start asking after-sales. Once they have reaped the benefits of top-of-funnel marketing such as freebies and middle of funnel marketing such as improved content mails and other means of communication, they are eagerly awaiting the sale or at least a demonstration of the product.
Even at this point, however, you need to continue offering your customers various value-added services and incentives in order to keep them engaged.
The bottom of the funnel is where the decision-making happens, so offer them incentives and products they cannot refuse.
The most common way used is through the call to action webinar. For example, if your webinar is about a healthy diet, then you should finish the webinar with an incentive for customers to take your magazine membership by offering a free subscription, a low discount, or a sales page creation. The methodology is irrelevant at this point; what is important is that customers must be offered an incentive and the sale must end with a pitch.
How Strong Is Your Sales Funnel in 2021?
Marketing funnels are more than just a series of emails, they are how you develop a relationship with a potential client. All sorts of guides, articles, and quotes about insurance are readily available online now, so prospective buyers are more informed than ever and typically shop around. Prospecting is much more difficult now that customers have more options.
Producers today are expected to not only be consistent when engaging their contacts, but they also have to be proactive to stay ahead of the competition. In short, the less you manage prospect and client relationships, the more your opportunities are available for other agents and brokers who are already.
There are some things you must address in order to make your sales funnel an efficient one. Let’s look at some of them right now in the form of questions-
Are You Prospecting Correctly?
Prospecting presents two challenges to salespeople across industries because it involves two questions to answer:
1) What is the main and secondary source of my prospects?
2) How do I know these prospects are worthy of the time or money?
When you have an imbalance between these two objectives, your leads either don’t convert or don’t convert well. So, fix these problems ASAP.
Are You Paying Attention To LinkedIn?
LinkedIn is your first impression for anyone who seriously considers your services. When you attend shows and conventions, hand out business cards, or are referred by a client, you’re going to be looked up to more often than not.
A strong profile sets you apart from commoditized agents and positions you as an expert in your specialty area, while a weak one can leave prospects wondering about your experience or leave you losing opportunities to competitors with the same experience. Thus, it would be wise to improve your LinkedIn profile.
How’s The Team Effort Coming Along?
Making your sales funnel successful is a result of collective effort. It was never a one-man job, and it never will. The whole marketing team depends on it because that’s considered to be the structure of your marketing strategy. So, involvement matters most.
Make sure all members of the team are playing their roles efficiently. The team needs to be proactive and respond to the leads, prospects to lead them to the bottom.
To Sum Up
Every company’s marketing funnel is different and customized to its target audience, product line, inbuilt marketing strategy, and customer’s requirements. In addition to attracting customers, it also provides insights into how to convert those potential customers into loyal ones. With a good CRM and a great team, your sales funnel is destined to be successful.
For more information about Sales Funnel and CRM, keep an eye on our blogs!